Shadow of great britain

10 Downing Street, Westminster, London, the official residence of the Prime Minister.

The Duke of Wellington was leaning on a crimson velvet seat, holding a newspaper from France in his left hand, and a secret letter from Paris delivered by Rothschild's mail service in his right hand.

After reading these two things, he couldn't help but lower his head and rub his temples, and then said to Sir Pierre who was sitting opposite him: "Ha! Anyway, Louis Philippe refused to admit that he was the one who kidnapped people to Paris. The French government?”

Sir Pierre smiled and shook his head: "Your Excellency, you can't say that. Louis-Philippe just didn't admit it openly. Didn't he apologize to you in private in a secret letter?"

The Duke of Wellington folded the two letters and put them into his coat pocket with an impatient expression: "What's the use of apologizing in private? After all, isn't it a shameless plan to let us bear the risk of public opinion? It's not that I don't understand him. , after all, he has just climbed to the throne of France. If he surrenders to Great Britain just after he takes the throne, then he will probably be the king of France for the rest of his life."

Seeing the anger on his face, Sir Pierre suddenly had an idea. He leaned forward slightly and made a suggestion: "But... if Louis Philippe wants to get a bargain on this matter, then last month's uprising in Brussels led to Belgium's almost de facto independence. Things..."

The Duke of Wellington heard this and understood what Sir Peel meant.

After the Napoleonic Wars ended that year, in order to establish a strong buffer state in northern France to maintain the balance of power on the continent, Britain proposed at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to merge the Netherlands and Belgium to form a new Kingdom of the Netherlands.

However, although Belgium and the Netherlands form the same country in name, the two regions have great differences in culture, religion, and economic structure.

For example, the Netherlands is predominantly Protestant, while Belgium is Catholic. The Dutch speak Flemish, while the Belgians speak Flemish to a small extent and French to the majority.

But this is not the most terrible thing. The most terrible thing is that the Dutch, nicknamed "Sea Coachman", mainly make a living from commerce and fishing, while Belgium is a region with a strong industrial and agricultural foundation.

Therefore, the Netherlands, which relies on commercial trade to make a fortune, will of course adopt a low-tariff free trade national policy that is biased towards mercantilism, but in this case, it will sacrifice the industrial and agricultural interests of the Belgian region, and they will bear the burden of a large amount of cheap foreign goods flooding into the market. The price, of course, goes against their desire to implement trade protection policies.

King William I of the Netherlands was also full of misgivings about the new Belgians who had joined the kingdom. In order to ensure the Dutch's dominant position in the kingdom, he had frequently formulated discriminatory policies against the Belgian region over the years.

For example, only those who can speak Flemish can apply for government recruitment exams. Senior government and military generals can also only be held by Dutch. Belgian newspapers are subject to censorship, but the debts owed by the Netherlands during the Napoleonic Wars are The Belgians need to share the burden.

The Belgians have endured for more than ten years. They have long been dissatisfied with the Dutch rule. The July Revolution in France this year was like a shot in the arm, instantly igniting every Belgian's enthusiasm for independence.

So not long after the July Revolution broke out, the Belgians launched an uprising in Brussels. In order to show his image as a people's revolutionary to the domestic people, King Louis Philippe of France immediately expressed solidarity with Belgium.

However, for Britain, it was absolutely intolerable to watch independent Belgium fall to France. But it is indeed unrealistic to want Belgium and the Netherlands to reconcile quietly. Therefore, during this period, the cabinet has been discussing whether it is necessary to send troops to intervene in the Belgian War of Independence.

It is true that King Louis Philippe of France cannot bow to Britain at this time, but the result of saving face is that he must pay some money in exchange. For example, the United Kingdom promised not to continue to intervene in the Belgian issue.

The Duke of Wellington bit his quill and nodded slightly: "If you think about it from a practical point of view, this is indeed a pretty good deal. If it had been just before the passage of the Catholic Emancipation Act, I would have never even thought about it. I accepted this transaction application from Louis Philippe. But now..."

The Duke of Wellington smiled wryly and shook his head: "We may need some useless face-saving issues more than he does. So I have said before that I hate partisan politics, although if I say this out loud it may make everyone unhappy. But I still have to say that factional fighting has greatly harmed the country's interests. I clearly prevented the country from civil war, but they treated me as a sinner.

I really don’t know who prevented Napoleon from marching to England. If I had known that they were so ignorant, I might as well have died in Waterloo, so now they would all be Catholic and all speak French.

Alas, Robert, I don't think there's any way to procrastinate like this. Huskisson is dead, and the alliance with the moderate Whig party isn't going well either. Parliament will convene in two weeks, and the Whigs will definitely take the opportunity to initiate a motion of no confidence in the cabinet.

From a military point of view, if we knew that this battle was bound to fail, it would be better for us to strike first and let me take all the responsibility. In this case, perhaps you can continue to unite the party and voters, so that the Tories will not lose too many seats in the next general election. "

When Sir Peel heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then said in shock: "Your Majesty, Duke, what are you talking about? You are the leader of the party, and the cabinet and the backbenchers in the party must advance and retreat with you. ah!"

The Duke of Wellington picked up the goblet on the table, looked at the wine sloshing in it and said, "That's not necessary, Robert. His Majesty the King ordered me to form the cabinet back then, just to allow me to stabilize the chaotic situation in the cabinet and Solve the Ottoman and Greek problems.

But from a personal point of view, I neither have the talent to speak, nor do I like to show off, so there should be no one who hates this job as much as I do, and no one who knows as much about party affairs as I do.

I am an upright man and an upright soldier. I am not into those intrigues and tricks. I always like to be honest with others. But this approach is obviously unworkable under the current situation.

I am still opposed to parliamentary reform, and I will not change my views just because I miss these positions. I always believe that the so-called reform is nothing more than a revolution that adopts due legal procedures.

They want to start a revolution in England, but I don't agree with that. But if I insist on not giving in, it may not only be a revolution, but they may also bring out a Robespierre. It would be of no benefit to anyone if this happened.

Therefore, according to the principles of battlefield command, if you are in a disadvantageous situation, you must choose to gather your troops, shrink your defense, and wait for the right time to prepare for a comeback. Since the Whigs like this high ground so much, I'll give it up.

But I really didn’t expect that I was not defeated by Napoleon, but was defeated by the secret arrows of my own people. "

Having said this, the Duke of Wellington suddenly stopped talking. He stared at Sir Peel with sharp eyes like an eagle and spoke.

"Robert, from now on, I will leave the party affairs to you."

When Sir Peel heard this, he felt a little complicated for a moment. He opened his mouth half-opened but stopped talking.

After a long silence, Sir Peel could only sigh: "I understand, so you are planning to..."

Wellington raised his hand slightly: "You don't have to worry about the rest. When the next Congress comes, I have to vent the anger I have suppressed for several years on their heads. After the Congress, all public opinions against the Tories The pressure will be transferred to me. After that, you and the existing Tories can all take a breather."

When the Duke of Wellington said this, he couldn't help but stand up and tugged at his collar: "I want them to understand that not everyone is interested in political interests. They really think I don't know their little thoughts. ? Take the initiative to propose reforms, so that the newly enfranchised voters will vote for them. What do they think of British politics and national affairs? Naive, Naive!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the door of the office was suddenly pushed open a crack, and the Duke of Wellington's personal secretary stood outside the door, leaning forward slightly.

"Your Excellency, someone is asking to see you below."

The Duke of Wellington picked up the wine glass and drank the sherry in one gulp. He said a witticism casually: "Oh? Familiar plot, Waterloo more than ten years ago, also in a time of crisis. Could it be that my old friend Brûlée Has Marshal Scheer finally remembered me? Thank God. But it’s better for him not to think of me. He has been dead for more than ten years, and I don’t want to bury him in the ground and talk about our old friendship so soon.”

The private secretary smiled and replied: "Not Marshal Blücher, but Arthur Hastings, Sir Peel's subordinate and the new superintendent of Scotland Yard."

"Oh." The Duke of Wellington paused for a moment, then turned to Pierre and said: "Robert, it seems that I am looking for you. I'm sorry, I called you over because I had nothing to do, and it delayed the normal work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I hope I didn't Something happened.

Although I quite admire that capable young man, every time he appears in front of us, he doesn't bring good news. Fortunately, he can handle it properly every time and turn the bad news into magic. "

Sir Peel stood up quickly and said: "Tell Arthur, I will go down immediately."

"No, no, no." The private secretary waved his hand quickly while holding the document: "Superintendent Arthur mentioned it by name. He came to see His Excellency the Duke this time. It seems like something big happened in Hyde Park."

"Looking for me? Hyde Park?" Duke Wellington frowned his white eyebrows: "Is there someone else who is inciting people to smash the windows of my house?"